Couches, toilets and tires among three tons of trash picked up along Syracuse highway

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardTwo couches and two box fans were among the three tons of litter that Syracuse and Onondaga County workers cleared off Interstate 690.

Syracuse, NY -- Two couches, toilets, tires and countless candy wrappers were among three tons of debris collected from a two-mile stretch of Interstate 690 in Syracuse last week.

A coalition of state and local officials displayed the smelly debris in a 20-foot-long garbage container this morning at Syracuse's Department of Public Works on Canal Street. It's the fist step in a campaign to fight litter, an issue that officials contend costs taxpayers money, harms Syracuse's reputation and pollutes the environment.

"There are two couches, for crying out loud," said Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, referring to the trash. "Who in their right mind would do that?"

DeFrancisco was joined by a host of state legislators, highway workers, local law enforcement and government officials, at a news conference with I-690 traffic whizzing by. All stressed the collaboration signaled a serious effort to crack down on litterbugs in a time of dwindling resources.

Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, said doing the math, there were probably 25.5 tons of garbage -- or 51,000 pounds -- along Syracuse's 17 miles of highway. "That's absolutely unacceptable," he said.

Assemblyman William Magnarelli, D-Syracuse, pointed out how much it cost taxpayers to pay workers to pick up tons of debris. He credited Post-Standard columnist Sean Kirst's numerous laments about the city's litter problem for spurring officials into action.

People need to realize that "throwing away garbage on the highway is like throwing away money out of their pockets," Magnarelli said.

Litter Cleanup News ConferenceCity, county and state government officials gathered to announce their combined efforts to fight litter and clean up area highways, at a joint news conference at the Syracuse DPW facility on Monday morning.

To help in the cleanup, the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency is disposing of the trash for free, which saves local officials $250 in the first batch and an estimated $2,000 for the entire highway cleanup.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said his office will step up enforcement of the littering law, which can carry a fine of up to $350 or 10 hours of community service for a first offense.

There have been 80 littering tickets so far this year, on pace to exceed last year's total of 120 in the county, Fitzpatrick said. He hoped to steer transgressors to litter pick-up community service.

"There's no reason for it," the DA said. "It's abject laziness."

But professionals will need to clean up areas of the highway, especially near downtown Syracuse where workers will be working directly on the roadway, said state Department of Transportation Regional Director Carl Ford.

Ford and Syracuse DPW superintendent Carole Cannon urged motorists to slow down and have patience when driving past the road crews this summer.

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardState Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, with other elected officials announce a trash crack down.
Based on a recent cleanup, the city and county officials estimate 25 tons of trash litter SyracuseâÂÂÂÂÂÂs interstates.

Cannon said city workers are not used to working on the highway, and her main concern was keeping them safe.

DeFrancisco said signs will let people know that traffic delays are due to litter clean-up, as part of the awareness campaign.

The campaign, while still being worked out, will have a simple message: "Don't be one of those people," DeFrancisco said. "Don't litter, be vigilant."

Matthew Millea, deputy county executive for physical services, said the clean-up would help in the ongoing effort to clean up Onondaga Lake by reducing polluted runoff water.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner hoped last week's cleanup sent a message. "Hopefully, this is the first step for our community to say, 'We will no longer allow this to happen.'"